A simple dessert recipe for little cakes that are perfect for tea time but with a California twist! Brown butter and almond flour cakelets get mixed with roasted pistachios and candied kumquats for a not-too-sweet and healthy-ish treat! Try this Kumquat Pistachio Brown Butter Tea Cakes recipe for your next tea party!
11/2 sticks (12 tablespoons)unsalted butterplus more for coating the muffin pan
For The Tea Cakes:
1cupalmond flour
3/4cuppowdered sugarplus more for garnish
1/2cupcoconut flour
2largeeggsbeaten until smooth
2largeegg whitesbeaten until smooth
1/2cuproasted and salted pistachiosfinely chopped
Instructions
Make The Candied Kumquats: Combine the 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and six pieces of green cardamom in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the sliced kumquats, then cook until they're soft (but still holding their shape), and the skin starts to look translucent for about 10 minutes.Remove from heat and set aside to steep and cool slightly, at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, start on the tea cakes. TIP: Candied kumquats can be made up to two weeks ahead of time. Store refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use.
Make The Brown Butter: Meanwhile, make the brown butter. Melt the 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Watching it carefully and often stirring, the milk solids brown, and the butter becomes fragrant and nutty for about 10 minutes.Scrape along the bottom to prevent the solids from sticking and burning. When the butter is brown, immediately remove it from heat and place it in a heatproof container.
Prepare The Mini Muffin Pan: Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Prepare one (24 well) mini muffin pan by using the extra room temperature butter to coat the inside of each well. Set the pan in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make The Brown Butter Tea Cake Batter: Meanwhile, place the 1 cup almond flour, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 cup coconut flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Add the beaten eggs and whisk until everything is evenly moistened. Stir in the brown butter, whisking as needed to ensure it's well combined (the batter will be on the wetter side but similar to cupcake batter), then mix in the finely chopped pistachios.
Bake The Pistachio Brown Butter Tea Cakes: Place two tablespoons (a #30 scoop will make work of this!) of the batter in each mini muffin pan well, then arrange three slices of kumquats on top. You should end up with 24 tea cakes in total.Lower the oven temperature to 350°F, then place the tea cakes in the oven and bake until golden brown, rotating halfway through about 15 minutes total. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool briefly. Serve topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. TIP: Tea cakes will last up to three days when store in airtight container at room temperature.